5 Questions to ask your Bridal Makeup Artist

I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I returned to Melbourne after spending a week in Sydney training in advanced Bridal Makeup Artist Techniques with the ever-fabulous Donna Mee.

The last few weeks have been super busy behind the scenes with some great new changes coming for me, including a new website, so I’ve been pretty quiet on the blogging and social media front recently.

It didn’t really occur to me before going to Sydney that in a lot of cases “The Wedding” is often the very first time a bride will ever have had professional makeup done. Which is ironic, because the first time that *I* had my makeup done was for my wedding.

So when you are looking for makeup artists there are some questions that I recommend that you ask

1. Do you have a portfolio of your work I can look at?
It’s important that you look at the makeup style of the artist that you are hiring to make sure that the makeup that they do suits your personal style. Good artists are able to work with your features and create a gorgeous look, just for you, but there are artists who tend to do the same look for every person that they work on.

Don’t rely on their social media feeds to see their style – most people use their Instagram feeds to not only show their own work, but the work of other artists that they are inspired by, or from when they have worked as part of a team.

Make sure that your artist is able to follow your style requests – after all this is your big day, and you want to be sure that you are in love with your look, but be prepared to listen to your artist’s professional advice as well. Their expertise is the reason that you have hired them.

2. Do you have a website that I can view?
A website or a blog is a fairly good indication of how seriously your artist takes their craft. You’ll be able to get a feel for the personality and style of your artist by what they have posted online.

3. Do you do trials before the wedding date
I always recommend a preview before the wedding so that the perfect look can be designed for you. If you haven’t already read it, head over to my article on wedding previews

4. On my wedding day do you come to me, or do I travel to you?
Many brides choose to have their hair and makeup done at the same location they are getting ready, be it their house, or their hotel. This is often more convenient for the bridal party, and means that the makeup artist and hair stylists can co-ordinate to ensure that everyone is ready on time.

It’s usually a lot less stressful than having to ensure that there are enough cars for everyone, and organising to travel to different locations for hair, then makeup, then to get dressed.

5. Are there any additional charges that I need to know about?
Some artists have additional charges to apply lashes (I don’t, this is included in my fee), and some of us have special items like touch up kits that can be put together for your big day.

There are costs that are usually added to the price of the service such as parking (if you are getting ready at a hotel, or in a city), travel fees (if your makeup artist is travelling long distances), special services (such as tattoo coverage or airbrushing), and early start fees, to name a few.

These are all things that should be discussed with your artists before booking, so that you don’t have any surprises.

I could spend all day writing you a huge list of questions for you to ask your bridal makeup artist, but this is a good start. If you think of anything that you want to ask your artist write them down and ask when you are having your preview, or email them through. Most artists are happy to help make their brides feel confident and happy for their big day.